Oh, Olive! Utility Jacket - Workwear Look

Depending on where you work, you might be able to be in your sweats or pj’s. So many people have been working at home through the Covid pandemic, that people have gotten rid of many of their business style pieces since they really have no need for them. However, many places have opened back up and have called people back into the office. When I was working as an assistant manager at a university bookstore, I could wear my jeans to work, and very often did, but I could also wear skirts or dresses if I chose to do that. Usually, when we talk about workwear style, we are talking about a business or business casual type of outfit consisting of blouses, nice pants, blazers and other similar pieces. We do have a more casual type of style that has moved into the work place in many business realms, allowing their employees to have more flexibility and comfort. I would say today’s look tends towards business casual due to the utility jacket and the tennis shoes, and I would have been perfectly comfortable wearing this to my previous job.

As I told you in Tuesday’s post, I am featuring the olive utility jacket as my olive piece. This is St. John’s Bay brand from JCPenney. This jacket is roomy, so I can wear multiple layers underneath if I want to use it in the cooler weather. Right now, it is a great piece for overly air conditioned restaurants, retail spaces and business offices. This piece also has adjustable tabs at the sides to make it more fitted, as well as a double front closure which includes a full zipper and buttons.

Fall Trend Alert - Lavender

Certain colors are always trending for each of the major seasons and fall is no exception. Surprisingly, rather than the typical fall hues of orange, brown or yellow, we are seeing pastels like lavender and blush. I’ll cover blush next week, but for today lavender is my color of choice. My thrifted eyelet top is Old Navy brand. I love this light weight piece.

You’ve seen my polka dot skirt on the blog before. Amazingly with my weight gain and redistribution (aka spare tires), I can still get it on. Ha ha. This older thrifted piece is a brand called Outback Red. It is a great piece for any warmer weather season, spring, summer or fall. Not a full length maxi skirt, it is more of a tea length. Another plus, it has pockets.

I kept my accessories pretty low key, except my layered necklace is fairly blingy. I added a few bracelets, my white cross body bag again and my Steve Madden sneakers that I got recently at DSW.

Do you like this outfit? What would you wear to the office? Let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoyed this look. I’m including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a great rest of your week!

Spring Trends 2020 - Polka Dots

If there is one thing that is prevalent this year for spring trends it is patterns. From polka dots, to plaid, to pinstripes, to florals and tropical greenery, and more, patterns abound. Being a girl who likes color, I am all in when it comes to wearing patterns. It is an easy way to add visual interest and colors to an outfit, with just the addition of a printed top, skirt or scarf.

Today’s outfit revolves around polka dots. Yes the cheery dots are back and bolder than ever. Most of what was on the runway featured larger more bold polka dots, but any dots will do and if you are feeling really bold, why not go for a head to toe polka dotted outfit, like the one featured in this post?

I think everything in this outfit I have used on the blog before. With the ever increasing emphasis on recycling of all sorts, it is a great practice to only purchase pieces for your closet that are going to get used over and over.

Let me tell you about this outfit from head to toe and provide links to other posts where I have used the same piece.

Polka Dot Top

This “top” is actually a short dress/tunic that I got on clearance at Charming Charlie a few years ago. The dress is too short for my taste, but I thought it would be cute with cropped pants in the summer, or used like this, tucked in, so it looks more like a regular popover blouse. It is fully lined, so no worries on having to wear a cami underneath. You can see I styled a similar look with a different polka dot skirt and a navy eyelet jacket here.

Abstract Polka Dot Skirt

I call this George brand, high waisted, pull on skirt, abstract polka dot, because the dots are more squishy than perfectly round. I really like this midi length skirt and midi’s are the trend for spring and summer. Go figure, we go from midi skirts to hot pants. No hot pants for this girl. I’m sorry, but hot pants are only made for ladies with long, slim, pretty legs, and mine have none of those qualities. Back in the day, but not any more. This skirt is fully lined, but very light weight, so perfect for spring and summer. I originally posted this skirt with a striped crop top and jean jacket. You can see that post here.

Classic Blue Cardigan

This ANA cardigan has been a warmer weather staple in my closet for many years. I can’t seem to find another post using this sweater, but I know I have worn it on Instagram. If you don’t follow me yet, on Insta, just look me up. You’ll see more of my every day looks over there and pictures of our cat, Plato and a few other things here and there.

Trendy Bag and Necklace

Large tote bags are making a come back, at least for the spring and summer. Like I said in my introductory post on the Spring Trends, I like a fun, large tote bag, especially for traveling, because you can throw extra things in there like a book, notebook and a bottle of water. This tote was a clearance find at Kohl’s and I love the texture details and the gold design. 

Another Spring Trend is chunky chain jewelry. I got this necklace a couple season’s ago and haven’t worn it that much. Now I have more of a reason to.

Classic Blue Heels

I’ve worn these bright blue Croft and Barrow heels numerous times before on the blog. For a while I couldn’t find them. I had packed them away in a shoe box, inside another box. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Ha, ha. You can see how I styled them with a denim skirt, a floral dress, a maroon skirt and white jeans. They are very versatile shoes and I noticed when we did these pictures they are starting to show signs of wear, so I need to be on the look out for a replacement pair.

Are you a polka dot fan? What do you think of this outfit? I’d love to hear you thoughts.

Thanks to everyone who supports the blog. I’m including some shopping links. These are affiliate links, and all opinions are my own.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

Have a wonderful day.